The daily life of slaves in 19th century Mecklenburg County consisted of hard work and discipline.
There were set rules for the governance of slaves involving such issues as food rations and clothing.
Even though their lives were closely controlled, slaves on these plantations were also real people, with
names and birthdays and the desire to have their own lives and families. The documents on this page
provide a glimpse into daily slave life and range from generic instructions to managers about the
governance and discipline of Negroes to an inventory of slaves to a slave pass allowing a slave to
travel to another plantation to be married.
